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​the Urbafresh Blog

One of our chefs asked for something that had a minty flavor in microgreens. We asked our supplier and he suggested trying edible marigolds. We ordered some of the (very expensive) and have been experimenting with the plants.

We finally were satisfied with the production and delivered these first crops this week. Striking in appearance, the marigolds had a deep red stem with contrasting bright green leaves and serrated true leaves. The minty overtones of this microgreen provide quite the delivery of flavor and visual appeal.

We have tried to create solutions for growing microgreens that are both good for you and the planet. We are happy to announce our newest grow system... a compostable and plant based eco cube for growing microgreens.

There is a great debate bubbling regarding the role of microgreens and how they can impact your health and well being. I think a better way to approach the use of microgreens is "why not". There has been much documented research showing how effective broccoli sprouts are in fighting cancer. In fact, Johns Hopkins researchers successfully patented (not upheld) broccoli as a cancer fighter.

In an article originating in Israel, it is stated “In fact, in the oncology departments here, in Israel, they recommend that their patients eat micro-broccoli. This product has active cancer-fighting ingredients. All microgreens are preventative. Broccoli, in general, fights cancer. Now, in micro-broccoli, you have ten times more sulforaphane. This is the active ingredient that fights cancer”

We believe microgreens are great ways to consume nutrition and wellness components in a concentrated form.

Since we started on this journey over 7 years ago, we have always wanted to do some sort of charitable giving based on our sales. With the launch of our new store microfarms.xyz we have been empowered to realize that dream. Our new store is powered by Shopify and there is an app that allows us to donate a share of all sales to a charity or cause.

Our initial effort in this direction will be to power a group of charities that provide nutrition to global populations. We intend to broaden our scope of giving in the future and welcome any inputs you might have.

You can click on the screenshot of the store below to be redirected ...

I have been asked so many times how can I use our microgreens other than salads and garnishes. Well, smoothies are great and adding them to soups is wonderful but today I wanted to give you some insight into some more novel uses.

Enter the microgreen pesto. I noticed a general recipe for pesto and just had an unused tray of cilantro microgreens that needed to be used. Thus a modified approach to pesto using olive oil, garlic, sea salt, pepper, come almond slivers and cilantro microgreens. Here is the result of this incredible combination that is now waiting in my fridge to adorn some chicken and fish next week. The microgreens give a subtle hint of flavor that is dominated by the garlic (can never have too much garlic) and created a great tasting base for dishes.

Bread: we also experimented earlier with adding microgreens that were chopped like the pesto to a simple bread mix in a breadmaker. The great tasting loaf was dubbed a salad in a slice to highlight the maximum nutrition contained in a single slice of the bread.

The everyday radish is such a common vegetable that we often overlook what a truly superfood it can be. Radish microgreens come in many beautiful colors and add a nice zing to any dish. The microgreens have that distinctive radish sharpness but are significantly milder than the full vegetable so the flavor is much easier to add.

Research has shown the radish microgreens have significant content of both cancer fighting and cardiovascular disease ingredients. These valuable properties are amplified in microgreens as they contain significantly more content than the mature radishes. Because of this finding, you can eat just a small helping and have the equivalent of a large helping of the radish that you normally think of.

Radish microgreens are also extremely quick growing as crops can be ready to go from seed to table in 5-8 days depending on your taste. Colorful, fast growing, helps fight both cancer and heart problems while tasting great. What a true SUPER food!

We have been playing for awhile with adding our microgreens as a novel source of mineral and nutrient delivery. We settled on adding our microgreens as an ingredient to some classic country french bread that we love to have with our soups and dinners. Our counterparts in India have said that they routinely add microgreens into their flat breads to accomplish the same thing.

Carlene writes, "Microgreens were once only the garnishes of high-end restaurants, but recently they’ve been making the rounds on everything from cocktails to farmers markets and taco restaurants in Denmark. With high-impact flavors and nutrients, growing microgreens at home is a no-brainer. They take up only inches of space making them high-yield and small-footprint crops. And as long as you have a window, you can grow your own. It’s the ultimate form of urban gardening...

Small but mighty is the best way to describe the flavor of microgreens—imagine the flavors of fully grown radish, beet, and herbs, and then distill it. A bite into microgreens is impactful and can enhance any dish. By picking the right microgreen, you can add an extra layer of pepperiness, nuttiness, or herbal qualities to your recipe. They're also the ultimate visual tool (i.e., Instagram gold). They add texture, shape, and color to every dish."

Small but mighty is the best way to describe the flavor of microgreens—imagine the flavors of fully grown radish, beet, and herbs, and then distill it. A bite into microgreens is impactful and can enhance any dish. By picking the right microgreen, you can add an extra layer of pepperiness, nuttiness, or herbal qualities to your recipe. They're also the ultimate visual tool (i.e., Instagram gold). They add texture, shape, and color to every dish."

Urbafresh provides an inexpensive way for you to try this concept with our microfarm kit that will grow five trays of wonderful microgreens right in your home. This kit will grow a basic microgreen salad mix that can be used in so many ways to add zest and color to all your dishes. The basic mix contains broccoli, kale, arugula, kohlrabi and cabbage seeds. Click on the picture below to be taken to the microfarm kit in our store. Happy introduction to the amazing world of microgreens!

"Live Long and Prosper" the famous Vulcan blessing uttered by Spock actually was a Yiddish blessing he learned early in his childhood ... regardless of the origin and intent, this is a wonderful guide for us all. In that vein we would like to introduce our first mix designed to do just that.

The Urbafresh Longevity Mix combines several proven nutritional powerhouses into a beautiful and flavorful microgreen mashup. We have taken broccoli, kale and red cabbage and created this ultimate mix for you. Spurred on by this article in the Buffalo News highlighting the work of researcher, Dr Li Tang, associate professor of oncology in the Department of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Roswell Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo. Dr Tang is convinced by her work that broccoli and its close relatives can help us live longer and prosper by enjoying the power of this natural supplement.

"She and a small circle of researchers across the country already have published information on the cancer-fighting benefits of vegetables that include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, and mustard, collard and turnip greens.

They also have begun an exciting new phase of examination to determine whether powerful phytochemicals – natural sulphur compounds produced by plants – can be used to treat certain types of cancer, as well as chronic disease." .. "We see reduced risk for mortality," Tang said.

Google "superfood" and up pops pages and pages of articles and references to the term. The original "Superfood" that actually had a patent granted in the late '90's (1999 by Johns Hopkins and Dr Paul Talalay) that was eventually fought and rescinded, but the research remains that showed broccoli had amazing anti-cancer properties.

Later work has shown that these same sprouts have efficacy when used to mitigate cardiovascular disease, autism, toxic air pollution, and they promote healthy gut bacteria. In addition, mineral rich broccoli microgreens have been shown to offer a unique solution for global malnutrition.

Our new line of kits that are devoted to nutritional wellness and offer you a simple means of providing fresh broccoli microgreens for you and your family. Kits are available now in our store.